Concrete door-way opening



March 22, 1955 E. o. WILLIAMS CONCRETE DOOR-WAY OPENING 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16, 1951 lnven-ron March 22, 1955 Filed Jan. 16, 1951 VZ ,lak 17';f

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CONCRETE DOOR-WAY OPENING Unite Claims priority, application Great Britain `lanuary 18, 1950 9 Claims. (Cl. 72-16) This invention relates to the construction of buildings using reinforced concrete as the principal material and is more particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with the formation of buildings having extended archshaped openings or doorways such as airplane hangars, assembly sheds and the like.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of cantilever pier or support member for the ends of the arch beam or like elements spanning the door opening to provide enhanced lateral stability and readily adaptable to accommodate a door of the folding or sliding type when the latter is in its open position. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of co-operating central arch beam which may be used to span the gap between the ends of the overhanging cantilever arms of two such pier members when, as is the case with an airplane hangar or the like, the door opening is required to be of extended width.

In accordance with one feature of the invention the cantilever pier or support member is made of hollow formation comprising two spaced apart vertical or nearvertical walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of the door opening or arch and joined together by cross webs, walls or like bracing means. For use in conjunction with a sliding or folding door the edges of said walls which define the cantilever overhang arm may be left unjoined so as to provide a vertical slot therebetween giving access to the hollow interior of the member. By suitable disposition of any cross webs or other bracing means, such hollow interior may be made of adequate dimension to form a door cell suitable for accommodating the sections of the door used for spanning and closing the door opening. Rails or like means for carrying or guiding the door may be carried right into the interior of the pier member.

In accordance with another feature of the invention the central arch beam used to span the gap between the ends of the overhanging cantilever arms of two such pier or like members, is of inverted V-cross-section. When used in conjunction with a door opening the longitudinal slot between the inner faces of the lower ends of the dependent side limbs may be arranged to form a continuation across the archway of vertical slots provided in the pier members for the purpose of accommodating the folding or sliding door sections whereby such longitudinal slot serves to accommodate the upper ends of the door sections when the door is open and also provides a housing for the requisite guide rails, roller mechanism and inspection facilities.

In order that the above and other features of the invention may be more readily understood one embodiment thereof as applied to the construction of a door opening in a large airplane hangar, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of one end of the door opening of an airplane hangar showing one of two similar cantilever piers and a portion of the intermediate central arch beam spanning the projecting ends of the over-hanging cantilever arms of such pier members.

Fig; 2 is a vertical transverse cross-section taken on the line lil-il of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse cross-section taken on the line Ill-III of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse cross-section through the arch beam taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1 while states Patent ICC Fig. 5 is a further vertical transverse cross-section of the beam end taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, indicates one of the two cantilever end pier members and 11 a central arch beam spanning the gap between the ends of the overhanging cantilever arms of the twopier members. Each pier member 10 comprises two spaced apart and near-vertical walls 12, 13 formed of reinforced concrete and disposed to lie substantially parallel with and equidistant from th vertical plane 14 of the door opening.

The two walls 12, 13 converge slightly in an upward direction as shown and are joined at their upper edges by a transverse horizontal web 16 and by further cross stays or ribs 17. In side elevation, as shown in Fig. l, the two walls 12, 13 are of similar shape having a vertical straight edge 18 at one side, the outer end, and having an extended cantilever overhang arm 19 on the other side, such arm being defined by a downwardly sweeping undersurface or edge 20 leading first towards the bottom of the vertical straight edge 13 and subsequently as shown at 21, at an opposite downward inclination to join a buried foundation slab 22. At the vertical side edge 18 the two walls 12, 13 are joined by two spaced apart and vertical transverse walls 24, so as to define a hollow cell 26 to which entry is provided by a vertical opening 27 at the top. This cell serves for receiving concrete or other weightproviding material in the Special method of striking the arch as described later.

Along the downwardly sweeping undersurface 20 of the cantilever overhang arm 19 the edges of the two walls 12, 13 are each thickened by inwardly and outwardly directed marginal ribs 2S, 29 with the space between such inwardly directed ribs 29 defining an equiwidth vertical slot 3f? giving entry to a door pen 31 constituted by the space enclosed by the walls 12, 13 and between the inner vertical wall 25 of said concrete receiv- .ing cell 2e and the marginal edge 20 of the overhangmg arm.

The central arch beam 11 comprises a straight horizontal member of reinforced concrete whose cross-section is that of an inverted-V as shown more clearly in Fig. 4 with the vertex thereof truncated and partially filled to provide a substantial solid upper rib 32 from which depend divergent side webs 33, 34.

The lower horizontal edges of these webs are provided with inwardly and outwardly directed flanges 35, 36, the opposing inner faces of the inwardly directed fianges 35 defining a slot 37 for receiving the upper ends of the door elements and constituting a continuation of the vertical slot 3i) in each of the pier members 10 and lying symmetrical to the vertical plane 14 of the door. The horizontal upper surfaces of these flanges conveniently constitute inspection and maintenance gangways inside and outside of the beam, The necessary rails or other guiding means for the door elements together with any further ancillary apparatus may be housed within the chamber formed between the divergent side webs of the beam where they are adequately protected against the elements. The guide rails or the like may extend right into the door pens 13 in the pier members 10.

At each end the upper rib 32 of the beam 11 is extended axially as indicated at but is modified in section, see more particularly Fig. 5, to the form of an erect-V with the lowermost junction edge 41 between the two side surfaces 42, 43 disposed horizontally in the vertical median plane of the beam which also coincides with the door plane 14 aforesaid.

This junction edge 41 rests, in the manner of a knife edge bearing, in a horizontal receiving groove 44 formed at the outer end of the overhanging arms 19 of each pier member 19 to constitute the means by which the beam 11 is supported in position between such pier members.

By this means any rocking movement of the beam 11 about a longitudinal axis as may be necessary to accommodate its loading upon one side only by the roof structure 45 shown extending laterally therefrom, is readily permitted with the resultant equal distribution of the load stresses over both of the dependant said webs 33, 34y

of the beam instead of principally upon the inner-'one alone as would occur if the beam was rigidly mounted upon ,thepier members inra non-rocking manner.

In the striking of an arch structure made as described above, the two end pier members 10 and the arch beam 11 are moulded in the usual way with the aid .of supported shuttering and the like, the cell 26 of each pier member being left empty. When striking of' rthe arch is required, i. e. the removal of the supporting shuttering, the cell 26 is filled with mass concrete or other weightproviding material through the filling orifice 27 thereby causing a hinging action of each pier member upon its foundation. By suitable design and disposition of the cell 26 within each pier member, the centre of gravity, cg of the foundation after striking may be kept substantially in the same position as it was prior to striking instead of being materially shifted with consequent change of loading of the foundations.

It will be obvious that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the form of the door pen 13 and the hollow cell 26 may be widely varied according to requirements while the precise form of the arch beam 11 and its interconnection at each end with the overhanging pier arms 19 may be varied within wide limits.

I claim:

1. A cantilever pier member of reinforced concrete comprising a subterranean foundation, two similarshaped substantially vertical spaced walls springing from said foundation and each having a substantially vertical outer edge, a substantially horizontal upper edge, and a curved inner edge, said upper edge extending inwardly from said outer edge and said curved inner edge extending upwardly from said foundation to define a cantilever arm portion of said cantilever pier member overhanging said foundation, a horizontal transverse web joining the upper edges of said walls, a first vertical transverse web joining the outer edges of said walls and a second vertical transverse web spaced inwardly of and parallel to said first vertical transverse web, said walls and said first and second vertical transverse webs defining a substantially cuboidal cell adjacent the outer edges of said walls and a passage through said horizontal transverse web to form means for feeding weight-providing material into said cell.

2. An extended doorway-opening for a building of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced pier members having opposing cantilever arms and an arch beam interconnecting the opposing cantilever arms of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls, said walls being disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of the doorway-opening, and transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls along the upper edge of the pier member including the cantilever arm portion and also in positions spaced away from the cantilever arm side of said pier member which faces the doorway-opening to define an enclosed chamber for constituting a closure door receiving pen, the cantilever arm portions of said walls defining a vertical slot giving access to said door receiving pen.

3. An extended doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of opposing hollow part-cantilever pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the opposing cantilever arms of said pier members, each of said pier members comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls, said -walls being disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of the doorway-opening, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls along the upper edge of the pier member including the cantilever arm portion and also in positions spaced away from the cantllever arm side of' said pier member which faces the doorway-opening to define an enclosed chamber for constituting a closure door receiving pen, the cantilever arm portions of said walls defining a vertical slot giving access to said door-receiving pen, and transversely projecting reinforcing ribs provided on the under edges of said cantilever portions of said walls.

4. An extended doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of opposing hollow part-cantilever pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the opposing cantilever arms of said pier members, each of said pier members comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls, said walls being disposed substantially Vparallel with the vertical plane of the doorway-opening, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls along the upper `edge of the pier member including the cantilever `arm portion and also in positionsspaced away from the cantilever arm side of said pier member which faces the doorway-opening to define an enclosed chamber for constituting a closure door receiving pen, the cantilever arm portions of said walls defining a vertical slot giving access to said door receiving pen, said bracing means also including a hollow cell within said part-cantilever pier member, and a passage in said bracing means giving access to the interior of said hollow cell for the loading of weight-providing material such as concrete into said hollow cell.

5, An extended arch-shaped doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced opposing part-cantilevered hollow pier members and an arch `beam interconnecting the cantilevered portions of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of said doorway-opening, and said arch beam comprising a horizontal reinforced concrete member of inverted-V crosssection, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls in each pier member and defining a closure door receiving pen within said pier member, the doorway-facing side of each pier member including the cantilevered arm portions thereof defining a verticalslot giving access to said door receiving pen.

6. An extended arch-shaped doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced opposing part-cantilevered hollow pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the cantilevered portions of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of said doorway-opening, and said arch beam comprising a straight substantially horizontal reinforced concrete member of inverted-V cross-section, the vertex of which is truncated and filled to provide a substantial solid upper rib having two dependent divergent side webs, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls in each pier member and defining a closure door receiving pen within said pier member, the doorway-facing side o f each pier member, including the cantilevered arm portions thereof, defining a vertical slot giving access tol said door receiving pen.

fl. An extended arch-shaped doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced opposing part-cantilevered hollow pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the cantilevered portions of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of said doorway-opening, and said arch beam comprising a straight substantially horizontal reinforced concrete member of inverted-V cross-section, the vertex of which is truncated and filled to provide a substantial solid upper rib having two dependent divergent side webs, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls in each pier member and defining a closure door receiving pen within said pier member, the doorway-facing side of each pier member, including the cantilevered arm portions thereof, defining a vertical slot giving access to said door receiving pen, said dependent divergent side webs defining a slot lying in the vertical plane of said doorway-opening and constituting a continuation of the vertical slot defined bythe cantilevered portions of each pier member.

ft. An extended arch-shaped doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced opposing part-cantilevered hollow pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the cantilevered portions of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of said doorwayopening, and said arch beam comprising a straight substantially horizontal reinforced concrete member of iriverted-V cross-section, the vertex of which is truncated and filled to provide a substantial solid upper rib having two dependent divergent side webs, transverse bracing means interconnecting said verticall spaced walls in each pier `member and defining a closure door receiving pen within said pier member, the doorway-facing side ofteach pier member, including the cantilevered arm portions thereof, defining a vertical `slot giving access to said door receiving pen, a V-section channel parallel with the plane of the doorway-opening in the upper surface of said transverse bracing means at the ends of said cantilevered portions of each of said pier members and complementary V-section projection at each end of said arch beam seated in said V-section channels.

9. An extended arch-shaped doorway-opening for a building construction of reinforced concrete, comprising a pair of spaced opposing part-cantilevered hollow pier members and an arch beam interconnecting the cantilevered portions of said pier members, each pier member comprising two substantially vertical spaced walls disposed substantially parallel with the vertical plane of said doorway-opening, and said arch beam comprising a straight substantially horizontal reinforced concrete member of inverted-V cross-section, the vertex of which is truncated and filled to provide a substantial solid upper rib having two dependent divergent side webs, transverse bracing means interconnecting said vertical spaced walls in each pier member and defining a closure door receiving pen within said pier member, the doorway-facing side of each pier member, including the cantilevered arm portions thereof, dening a vertical slot giving access to said door receiving pen, said dependent divergent side webs deining a slot lying in the vertical plane of said doorwayopening and constituting a continuation of the vertical slot defined by the cantilevered portions of each pier member, a V-section channel parallel with the plane of the doorway opening in the upper surface of said transverse bracing means at the ends of said cantilevered portions of each of said pier members and complementary V-section projections at each end of said arch beam seated in said V- section channels.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Page 54, Architectural Recordf November 1938. Journal of the American Concrete Institute, page 371 of December 1946. 

